Generator work to cancel Keystone ferry

The Steilacoom II will be out of service beginning Wednesday night and continuing all day Thursday. That means there won't be any ferry service on the Keystone-to-Port Townsend route.

The Steilacoom II will be out of service beginning Wednesday night and continuing all day Thursday. That means there won’t be any ferry service on the Keystone-to-Port Townsend route.

The 50-car ferry needs to be pulled from service so workers can rebuild one of the vessel’s auxiliary generators. The work is scheduled to begin Wednesday after the 7:30 p.m. sailing from Keystone. The remaining runs for the day were already scheduled to be canceled because of the low tidal conditions at Keystone Harbor. Engineers estimate that the Steilacoom II could return to service Friday, Nov. 6, according to a news release from Washington State Ferries.

However, if crews discover the work is more extensive than originally planned, then the service cancellation will be extended.

The Port Townsend/Keystone ferry run was cancelled from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday when one of the two auxiliary generators on the ferry failed. After last week’s problem work crews determined it was best to rebuild the generator to ensure the operation of the vessel, according to the news release.